<p>Hello parents,</p>
<p>I am a student that is applying to college this admissions cycle. Since i figured that my essays were going to be read by adults anyway, I wanted some parents on these forums to read over my Common App. essay. Its about 700 words so if you read decently fast, it should take 3 minutes I guess.</p>
<p>Is any parent willing to help me out and give me some constructive criticism on my essay? Tell me if you are interested and I will PM you the essay. Thanks!</p>
<p>Need at least on parent’s perspective! Anyone?</p>
<p>My son strictly followed the advice of Mr. Bishop, Caltech Admission Director: Do not let anyone read your essays (especially your parents), except one or two of your good friends.</p>
<p>So you don’t wanna read it?</p>
<p>Just my personal opinion: if you need a parent’s perspective, either ask a parent or ask a friend’s parent.</p>
<p>I am soooooo wary of sending a college essay out on the internet. Call me paranoid.</p>
<p>Whatevah.</p>
<p>I will comment on your essay if you want to PM it to me. (Parent/English teacher–no interest in stealing essays).</p>
<p><a href=“Parent/English%20teacher–no%20interest%20in%20stealing%20essays”>quote</a>.
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<p>Oh, well okay! Then I guess it’s safe!</p>
<p>(No offense atomom, I hope you see where I’m going with this.)</p>
<p>
The OP has also asked for people on the Common Application and College Essays boards to read his essay. Not a good idea, IMO.</p>
<p>Parents are safer. 
Trust me.</p>
<p>I’ve read dozens of essays since I’ve been on CC, and IMO it is highly unlikely that anyone would want to steal your essay. Why?
Your essay is just not that good–potential essay thieves could easily write a better one. ;)</p>
<p>But seriously, these essays are highly personal-- it would be very difficult to find one that would match with your application/experiences/personality/location. Much easier to write your own than to find one worth stealing that says what you want to say about yourself.</p>
<p>C’mon atomom, need I spell it out? Okay, if you insist:</p>
<p>Just because your handle has “mom” in it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a parent.</p>
<p>And it’s not just essay thieves that makes me wary.</p>
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<p>A few minutes invested in looking up atomom’s previous posts on CC ought to be enough to convince you of her “Mom” status. Being cautious is good, but don’t be overly paranoid.</p>
<p>I agree with heyalb. Erring on the side of caution is not being overly paranoid. If you’re on this message board, that too qualifies as not being overly paranoid.</p>
<p>Beyond that, sharing personal essays is just not a good idea. I would not consider that “overly paranoid”.</p>
<p>There are parents here I wouldn’t hesitate to share essays with - I “know” their kids aren’t applying this year and I’ve seen years of their posts and have a sense of who they are and how much I trust their judgment. I never volunteer to read essays, but I have read essays on occasion when asked. Most essays I’ve seen are too personal (my kids haven’t been on mission trips, they don’t come from a rice eating culture) to steal. A few made me wish my child had written them - I got a terrific one from a kid applying to Caltech about an ethical dilemma - that was eminently stealable, but my kid had already written about something else (he’d applied EA). BTW the writer of that terrific essay got in and my son didn’t. :)</p>
<p>I agree with mathmom. It is fairly to inentify the trustworthy parents on this forum.</p>